Annual Conference Vote

Notice of the Annual Business Meeting American Glass Guild, Inc.

To be held at the American Glass Guild's Annual Conference – May 24, 2025

Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the Members of the American Glass Guild, Inc., (AGG), held in each fiscal year, in conjunction with our Annual Conference, for the purpose of electing our Board of Directors for the next fiscal year. The Nominating Committee has recommended six (6) candidates to serve on the Board of Directors; Don Burt, Adam Frazee, Elizabeth Kolenda, Janet Lipstreu, Roberto Rosa, and Tony Serviente. A Director’s term begins at the Board meeting held just after the Annual Meeting of the AGG Membership. The vote will take place during the conference on May 24th, 2025

Nomination Statements

I'm a glass artist in Bloomington, IN USA. I've been an AGG member since 2007. I've served as the Chairperson of the AGG Membership Committee since 2013 and have previously served on the AGG Board. I have this past year served on the executive board as president. I would like the opportunity to serve another term on the Board. We are growing as an organization, and I will support and facilitate that growth so that we can better deliver on the Guild's mission.

I have served on the AGG Board for four years and am pleased with what we have accomplished. I hope to serve one more term. My wife, Maria, and I own Serpentino Stained Glass, Inc., Needham, MA. I joined the family business in 1988, making it my goal to specialize in quality conservation of historic stained glass windows. I’m proud to have conserved numerous important windows by La Farge, Tiffany, and one of the oldest figural painted windows in the country, by Abner Stephenson, from Trinity Church on Wall Street, NYC. Most recently, I conserved two 16th century roundels, one Dutch and one Swiss. I am a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, a Recognized Professional of The Association for Preservation Technology International, a Fellow of the Corning Museum of Glass, a member of the Corpus Vitrearum USA, and an Accredited Conservator of The Institute of Conservation. I was involved in the founding of the American Glass Guild in 2006, along with Maria and the other Founding Members. We saw a need for an organization truly focused on education, where everyone was an equal member. I truly enjoy teaching and sharing information. I currently serve as Chair of the Education Committee.

Hello all! I have been involved with AGG since the very first conference in 2006 where I volunteered to work on developing the sponsorship committee. By 2010, I came onto the board for 6 years and during that time became treasurer, entering our accounts for the first time on computer in QuickBooks and instituting committee budgets. In 2018, I was conference chair for the Cleveland conference. Every year I have been a volunteer at the conferences as I have attended every one and enjoyed them all!
Overall, I believe in board development and will encourage Board efforts in proactive efforts instead of reactive responses to needs. I hope my past involvement will add to the continuity of the organization, while allowing for new and exciting benefits for our members. As a purely volunteer organization, we need to use our valuable time and skills wisely and efficiently, and I would like to work on the board with that as a goal. As a person who has been involved with the nonprofit sector for most of my life, and a believer in the mission of this organization, I hope you will consider voting to add me on the Board of AGG.

I would be honored to serve as an AGG board member. I earned my BA from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, where I studied architecture, fine art, and mathematics. After graduation, I was introduced to stained glass and immediately gravitated towards it, as it tied together my love for architecture and fine art. The challenge of designing an art piece within the structural limitations of the medium satisfied both my right and left brain. In 2004, I began working alongside my husband, Matt Kolenda, as a designer at a local studio, where I began studying glass painting, including classes from the late Dick Millard and Deborah Coombs. I was introduced to the AGG by Barbara Kreuger and attended my first conference in Detroit in 2010. Over time, I’ve become more interested in the business side of the industry and the lead lines on my computer screen have shifted to spreadsheet grids. In 2012, I supported Matt in the founding of Kolenda Art Glass by designing, painting, and bookkeeping, while also taking a full-time position at an engineering and manufacturing company where my career has progressed in accounting and business operations. I served on the AGG Scholarship Committee from 2022-2024, and the Finance Committee in 2024. As a board member, I’d love to continue to apply my business and accounting knowledge within the world of glass, merging the things I love.

Greetings fellow glass professionals, scholars, and dedicated enthusiasts,
I would first like to express my sincere thanks for allowing me to serve on the Board. I have enjoyed being a member of the American Glass Guild. The first conference I attended was in Albany in 2006. Since its beginnings, I have found the American Glass Guild to be a community of welcoming individuals where everyone has an equal space at the table; where learning and fellowship are encouraged and fostered.
Serving on the Board has been interesting. Co-chairing the first conference after the pandemic was a challenge at times, but very much worth the effort. Being elected as Secretary, and then Vice President, to the Executive Committee was an honor. I would like to see the American Glass Guild continue to grow and build upon its successes; to welcome new people with a desire to learn; to foster conferences and learning opportunities that are high quality and accessible to everyone who has a desire to further themselves in the world of glass, whether you are a novice just starting your journey or a studio owner with a lifetime in the trenches.
The American Glass Guild has played heavily into my professional journey that began 28 years ago. Through learning and working on large scale projects with some of its founding members and advisors, attending conferences and co-chairing its largest conference, in 2022, in Corning, New York. I am currently serving on the Long Range Planning committee. We have been working diligently to reassess the values and mission of the AGG and chart new paths that will continue to build on the successes of the AGG and ensure an even brighter future ahead for the organization and the art of decorative glass.
I would like to serve another term on the American Glass Guild Board, to continue to give back and help grow this great organization. Thank you for your consideration.

I would be delighted to continue to serve as an AGG board member and to help to further its goals. My artistic roots grew later in life. I squeaked through high school and was not interested in many more years in an educational environment that I found trying, so instead of college I joined the military. After four years in the US Coast Guard honing my electronic skills, I went to work for private industry as an electronics technician. My entre into glass came in the form of a 30 second conversation with my boss who declared his enjoyment of a stained glass course he took at a local high school in New Jersey. I took that same class in 1980, and that was the start of my glass career. After 5 years of doing it at home, I quit my technician job and opened my first studio. I quickly discovered that the income from stained glass in a rural part of upstate NY is highly variable and not particularly sustaining, so I branched out into kiln work. For 30 years I marketed a line of giftware that I sold business to business nationally, selling to hundreds of venues in almost every state. This allowed me to grow my business to include a staff of 6-8 and to acquire the skills necessary to manage a small production studio. Among those skills are marketing, managing payroll, production scheduling, and equipment fabrication. While doing this I also did stained glass repairs, restorations, commissions, and teaching. I discontinued my business-to-business work in 2017 and since then have focused on painting on glass, as well as kiln explorations, and the previously mentioned stained glass activities. I maintain an active teaching schedule and lead classes at the Corning Museum of Glass, Pittsburgh Glass, Snow Farm, and other venues. At my studio in Ithaca, NY I have an apprentice program, as well as a regular roster of students. Over the years I have done extensive after-school programs and specialty workshops in both stained glass and kiln forming. I like being a student as well as teaching and have had the wonderful experience of studying with Rudi Gritsch, Jiri Harcuba, Martin Rosol, Kathy Jordan, Kenneth Leap, Sylvia Laks, Ellen Mendelbaum, Susan Plum, Mike Scheiner, Paul Stankard, Fred Tschida, and others. I hope my somewhat unusual background can be of use to the AGG, and that we can all work together to maintain and grow this industry.

Submitted by the Nominating Committee:

Maria Serpentino, Chair

Pete Billington

Judith Schaechter

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American Glass Guild

Annual Conference Vote

Notice of the Annual Business Meeting American Glass Guild, Inc.

To be held at the American Glass Guild's Annual Conference – May 24, 2025

Nomination Statements

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